TW-Chapter 2

The Turn-Based Hourglass

5 seconds to grasp the situation.

55 seconds available to devise a strategy.

……While thinking that, I wasted another second.

‘Think. Think.‘

How can I escape this crisis?

On the hourglass, the action points were displayed.

[Action Points: ■■■■]

Originally, when playing on a computer, 4 action points would allow movement of more than 10 meters.

However, right now my body couldn’t move at all.

I could guess the reason for this, too.

The 60 seconds given now are only for thinking.

In fact, my action points are calculated based on that split second of 0.0 seconds. The number of actions I can execute during that brief time is limited.

I forced strength into my unmoving right arm and tried to lift it. When my hand moved about 3 centimeters, one action point was consumed.

[Action Points: ■■■□]

‘No.‘

This method won’t work. Even using all my action points, it’s impossible to lift the wand and block that sword.

What about dodging?

Can I dodge?

If I squeeze out my remaining action points and duck my head?

The blade would hit my cheekbone instead of the carotid artery in my neck.

There’s a high chance I wouldn’t die instantly. Instead, it would hurt like hell. So much that I’d regret not just dying instantly. If I mess up, my eyeball would fly out, too.

And the survival possibility is very low. If I get hit by the sword, my head would turn from the impact, and Goblin number 2, who would be out of my sight, would stab my lungs with his spear.

No, then damn it, wait a minute.

What the hell is this 60 seconds even for?

Is it just time to pray before dying? This might be good for fanatics, but what use is it to me?

“Haah.“

After unconsciously sighing, I realized something.

Look at this?

Isn’t this strange?

I can’t move my body, but how did I sigh? Can I exhale such a slow sigh during 0.0 seconds?

When everything in the world stopped earlier, I unconsciously said, “What?”

“Can I……Speak?”

I carefully brought my voice out through my vocal cords.

It really works.

I can speak.

I could guess the reason for this, too.

This game supports multiplayer for up to 4 people. Nobody plays multiplayer, though, so it’s treated as a single-player game.

‘It’s the chat function.‘

That was a feature made with multiplayer in mind. If you press Enter during the game, a chat window opens. If you type text there, it appears as a speech bubble above the character.

So aren’t the words I’m speaking now being judged as a type of chat?

No matter how much you chat during battle, it doesn’t consume action points.

In that case……

‘Can I also do incantations?‘

The wizards in this game always chant when using magic.

Then, incantation messages would appear above the wizard character in speech bubbles, just like when chatting.

Of course, those incantation messages aren’t something the player typed by pressing Enter.

They appear automatically when the character uses magic.

But both are the same type of speech bubbles.

Then perhaps……

‘Please.‘

I turned my wrist to adjust the wand’s direction. I aimed at the Goblin in front of me.

[Action Points: ■□□□]

With the wrist movement, my action points dropped by two, and 4 seconds remained on the hourglass.

3 seconds.

2 seconds.

“Fireball.”

The moment I spoke the incantation spell, a new message appeared.

[All action points have been consumed]

[Ending turn.]

[The hourglass has been flipped again. Cooldown: 60 seconds]

Kwaaaaang!

A Fireball with 10 Intelligence points erupted from the tip of the wand. The flames blew away both the Goblin in front of me and Goblin number 2, who was holding a spear behind it.

***

“Kiiiiiiiiiaaaaaaaak!“

The two burning Goblins roll around on the ground. It was like screams spewed from hell.

They collapsed limply a moment later.

“Huk…!”

Finally, my breath that had been blocked by tension burst out with a thud. Like a dam bursting and water pouring out, my exhaled breath gurgled from my mouth.

“Huk…… Huk……”

My throat stings. When Goblin number 1 got hit by the Fireball and was blown away, the tip of his sword had dug into my neck somewhat. Blood flowed from the torn gap, and it was hot.

‘I almost died.‘

Crazy.

I almost died!

My whole body trembled waddle waddle from the fear of death I experienced for the first time in my life.

Like the brrr shivering when you pee on a cold day. My body shook like an aspen tree.

“Heuk…… Heuk heuk.”

The sound of the elf woman crying came from behind.

I didn’t cry. Instead, anger surged up again.

‘Why the hell are you yelling at me.‘

What’s wrong with clearing that trashy game?

I want to burn to death like those Goblins, whatever god, developer, or some trashy law of cosmic physics that dragged an innocent person here and threw them into this mess.

Was it that denial comes next after anger in the 5-stage process of accepting death?

To confess, I did plenty of denial during the walk from the Magic University to this place, holding the wand.

That this must be one of those stupid nightmares. That I’d wake up soon. That this doesn’t make sense.

And now it’s anger’s turn. Why me, of all people! I lived a good life! Such anger boiled up like fire.

‘Stay calm.‘

I clenched my teeth to suppress the excitement. I need to stay calm. I need to be cool-headed.

I will absolutely not move to the next stage with my anger.

I will not die.

I’m a player who cleared Turn-Based Master and reached Developer difficulty. I’m a master of raising wizards in this game. With my own build-up, I’m the person who can raise this wizard better than anyone else.

I will definitely survive here.

***

As my head cooled down a bit, more concrete plans began to form.

First, the Turn-Based Hourglass.

There was a helpful message explaining its usage.

[The Turn-Based Hourglass can be used once every 60 seconds. The method of use is flipping the hourglass.]

[The Turn-Based Hourglass automatically activates in emergency situations.]

A holographic magic hourglass followed me at a certain distance.

I can buy 60 seconds and devise strategies anytime, just by flipping it.

The method of flipping?

It’s not done by hand. It’s an object that others can’t see and I can’t even touch.

Fortunately, the usage method was simpler than touching it.

Just deciding to flip it.

That’s all I need to activate the hourglass.

‘With this, there’s no immediate danger of death.‘

However, it’s not always invincible, because the hourglass needs to wait 60 seconds after one use before it can be reactivated.

[The hourglass has a 60-second waiting time from activation until it can be reactivated.]

Even after defeating the two Goblins earlier, a message like ‘The hourglass has been flipped again’ appeared. The magic hourglass actually flipped then, and sand started flowing down in the opposite direction.

Based on this cooldown, the number of times I can probably use the hourglass in actual combat is likely at most once or twice.

The hourglass’s remaining cooldown is now 17 seconds.

It would be better to consume all this time before moving.

Previously, everyone was in a state of panic and stupidly stood there before receiving surprise attacks, but from now on, I need to proceed while watching all directions.

I will somehow find the exit gate and escape.

I will absolutely must not die.

‘And farming.‘

The beginner wands given by the Magic University each contain one 1st-grade magic spell.

Mine was ‘Fireball’, the fat guy’s was ‘Telekinesis’, and the fanatic’s was ‘Ice Spike’.

I took their wands.

“Is there anything among these you’d like to use?”

“No……”

There was no strength at all in the elf woman’s voice.

“What magic is in your wand?”

“Lightning Shock……”

“If monsters try to get close, use that.”

“Yes……”

I collected two magic stones from the Goblin corpses and two potatoes from the ally corpses.

I grabbed the elf woman’s hand and pulled her.

“Let’s go.”

Honestly, I don’t know if she’ll be helpful in combat.

But it’s better than nothing.

***

I was slightly worried that the elf woman had lost her mind, but fortunately, she was okay. After walking for about 10 minutes, she regained her vitality, albeit very slightly.

And she asked me this question.

“Why are they doing this to us……”

“This?”

“I thought they’d buy us as slaves with expensive money and make us do cleaning or laundry. Why are they sending us to the labyrinth……”

I know the reason.

According to the game scenario, several years before the player creates a character.

The labyrinth erupted.

As a result, countless adventurers died. Now the Magic University’s wizards are woefully insufficient. So the Magic University decided to rapidly train labyrinth exploration wizards.

The method was ‘throwing large numbers of slaves into the labyrinth and raising the survivors as wizards’.

First reason: If someone can enter the labyrinth with just a wand, find the exit, and come out, they can be considered to have outstanding talent as a labyrinth wizard.

Second reason: The price of slaves is very cheap. It’s ‘expensive money’ from the elf woman’s perspective, but it’s pocket change compared to the capital the Magic University handles in a year.

But I didn’t share this knowledge with the elf woman.

There’s no guarantee that what I know matches 100% with this world.

The best way to survive in an unfamiliar world is to remain silent. Speech is silver, but silence is gold, isn’t it?

So I answered the elf woman like this:

“They’re probably betting on which of us will come out alive.”

It was an answer that an ordinary human slave crushed by a sense of defeat might give while venting frustration to a fellow slave.

“What’s your name?”

Her question made me hesitate in my answer.

I’d prefer not to mix personal conversation with her if possible. Especially in a situation like this, forming attachments is the last thing I want.

But we need to know each other’s names at least. I can’t shout ‘Elf woman! Get down on the ground!’ in some urgent situation.

“Call me Caleb.”

It’s the name I used when creating my account.

“How about you?”

“I’m Yernil.”

She chorr chorr followed beside me and asked another question.

“What did you do before coming here, Caleb?”

This kind of question is troublesome.

My only memory before character creation is scratching my thigh in my underwear while turning on Developer difficulty.

“Caleb, you’re quite taciturn.”

When my answer didn’t come, she said awkwardly to herself.

“You seemed to chat quite amicably with the others on the slave ship.”

What?

So, there is someone who knew about me before arriving at the Magic University?

This is somewhat worrying.

After escaping here, how should I react when I meet people who know about me but I had no idea of?

“I lived in the fairy forest at the eastern end and then went to Plandor City.”

Yernil started talking about herself without being asked, and I wasn’t particularly interested.

‘Memory loss due to trauma caused by being thrown into the labyrinth by the Magic University.‘

I wondered how convincing this excuse would be, then shook my head.

‘No, what am I thinking right now?‘

Escaping from here itself is a hurdle, but I don’t have the luxury to worry about future events that haven’t even happened. Let me focus on the present.

“I got a job at a courier center there doing package delivery.”

Yernil’s chattering voice beside me felt somewhat annoying.

“But that courier center was supplying drugs disguised as packages. I didn’t know, of course! But… I ended up being framed as a drug courier. I became a slave because I couldn’t pay the fine.”

I didn’t have the luxury to listen to her sob story about her fate. Neither mentally nor physically.

“Yernil.”

“Yes.”

“Please be quiet.”

I wasn’t being irritable. It was advice for the party. We don’t know what monsters might come looking for us after hearing the noise.

This is a real situation, different from the game.

“I’m sorry……”

Seeing her expression lose all vitality, I realized my mistake anew.

She needed to escape from the shock of the fat guy and the fanatic’s deaths like this.

She needed to get at least a bit of comfort about this hellish situation by complaining about our unfortunate fate together with me.

She needed the minimum positive energy to continue living in this labyrinth.

“……It’s okay if you talk in a low voice. If it’s too loud, monsters……”

Click.

A sound came from under Yernil’s feet.

[It is your turn]

[Action Points: ■■■■]

The hourglass flipped, and time stopped.

“Ha.“

A sigh burst out naturally.

“Please don’t do this.”

I closed my eyes tightly in despair.

Yernil stepped on a trap.